Final Fantasy: Legacy of the Ancients
by Kaneda Muyo
Summary: This is my first Fanfic. I'm trying to write a logical sequel to both FFVII and FFVIII. Please R
1. After narrowly averted apocalypses

Chapter 1: After narrowly averted apocalypses  
  
Cloud Strife, veteran of countless battles, savior of the planet, was enjoying a relaxing day in his new house. Built for him through the joint efforts of the North Corel Mining Guild and the Neo-Midgar citizen recognition committee, this spacious house sat on an island south of the planned site of Neo-Midgar. He sat in a chair on the spacious porch letting the sea relax him. His thoughts drifted pleasantly along the course of nature, marveling at how quickly it had recovered from the narrowly averted disaster only weeks before. His work of clearing out the remaining monsters from the more remote places of the world was almost done, and he would finally be able to forget his worries.   
  
There was a soft sound from the corral nearby, holding his prize gold chocobo, as it shifted restlessly in its pen. Cloud ignored it, shifting his thoughts to the puzzle that held his attention more and more often. What had the ancients left behind besides the white and black materia that had not surfaced? Why had they left at least one weapon of such horrible power that didn't discriminate between threats and innocents intact? And most importantly, was there something about Jenova which made it so powerful, and those with her cells strong that was still alive? Doctor Hojo had performed so many experiments with Jenova that something might have survived, but all of his records burned in Midgar.  
  
Cloud had been to the Ancient City many times after Seperoth was killed, searching for answers, but nothing revealed itself.   
  
The PHS rang inside the house. Cloud groaned and got up. He stepped into the house and turned it on.  
  
"Hello?" Cloud asked.  
  
"Cloud," a cheerful voice answered, "This is Reeve, how are you?"  
  
"All right I guess, any new news?" Cloud replied. He had had no real contact with the world in a few days, but he knew that many things could change in just a few days.  
  
"Well, Neo-Midgar is coming along nicely now, the survivors of the first Midgar are helping out and we already have the groundwork for the city set. Barret has finally finished repairs and the coal mines in North Corel are up and running again." Reeve replied.  
  
"That should make him happy," Cloud said.  
  
"Also there are reports of Monsters near what's left of Mideel, that's kind of why I called." Reeve said slowly, "Since it is in your back yard I thought you might want to check it out. Could just be the natural wild life again though."  
  
Cloud understood. He hadn't seen much of the others since Meteor had been stopped. They could take care of themselves and there weren't that many monsters left. There had been several panicked calls after locals had spotted wolves and other natural wildlife returning to what had once been their homes. "Sure Reeve, I'll check it out. My chocobo could use the exercise." Cloud said.  
  
"Thanks Cloud, call if you need anything." Reeve said as he hung up.  
  
Cloud grabbed his armor and the PHS. Then he opened the cabinet that held his swords. Picking his buster sword out he randomly selected a few pieces of materia and headed out. He swung up onto his chocobo and started out. The buster sword rode easily on his back. Cloud liked using it, it could be used just as effectively as the Ultima weapon with just a little more skill, plus there really weren't many monsters left that took much effort to kill.   
  
The Gold chocobo sped across the ocean and quickly arrived at the pit that marked Mideel. An old man was the first to notice him. He walked up uncertainly as Cloud dismounted.  
  
"Hello my boy," the man said, "were you sent to deal with the monsters?"  
  
"That's right, where are they?" Cloud said, glancing around.  
  
"They were seen just outside of town, and. . ." He stopped speaking and stared passed Cloud.   
  
"What?" Cloud started, then his reflexes, still sharp from his battles took over. He drew the buster sword and blocked, just as a tentacle shot out aiming at his exposed back. Cloud grunted with the force of the impact and stepped back to re-position when he got he first look at the creature. It was swinging two tentacle arms ending in what looked like leaves with mouths. Its main body looked like a flower with legs and another mouth. Cloud had never seen anything like it.  
  
The monster swept in with its tentacles in a fury of blows that forced Cloud back a few paces. Cloud jumped in and struck, but did little damage. Then the creature stopped and Cloud felt a sudden wash of energy wash over him, then everything faded out. Recognizing the darkness spell, Cloud immediately checked his materia. To his dismay he had only grabbed three orbs. He quickly cast Quake 3 to try to buy himself some time to find an eye drop. The monster just kept coming. Cloud then used Sense to try to find a weak spot. The creature started to swing its tentacles faster, and Cloud started to take hits. Then the sense activated. He saw, . . . nothing. The sense could only tell him that the monster was new and that it was immune to the Earth elemental. Finally finding the eye drops, cloud used them and spun to face his adversary. In from of him were two more of the monsters.  
  
Cloud groaned and dove into the fray.  
  
***  
  
Tifa looked around the house and bit her thumb. Where was Cloud? She was more than a little concerned about him, considering that he had retreated to this refuge, isolating himself fighting and putting people off with completely believable excuses. Having finally talked Cid into flying her out to Cloud's new house, Tifa was not about to leave without seeing him.   
  
She ducked her head out the door and yelled out to Cid, "He's not here, and his Weapon chest and materia cabinet are open."   
  
"His Chocobo is gone too," Cid said from just of the porch, "I thought I'd check on it, considering how much it ate while it was aboard." His lips curled up into a smile, "sometimes I think he talked to that thing more than he did to all of us."  
  
Tifa nodded in agreement, "I know what you mean, he opened up more towards the final battle, but now that he isn't carrying the world on his shoulders he clams up." It had been a long fight and now that it was over Tifa had hoped to have a chance to talk with Cloud when they weren't living in fear. "We can come back later," Tifa said after a little thought, "There isn't anything in this world that Cloud can't handle himself. We'll just make the supply run out to the Mideel refugees."  
  
Cid nodded in agreement, "I've been wanting to try out the new engine rotation assembly myself," he grinned, "I'll bet we can be back here before Cloud."  
  
Tifa laughed, "That's one bet I won't take, I know you and that ship!" Cid had been forced over the course of the battles to first shed the propellers and then much of the ship in favor of speed. Now that he had some free time and the backing of Reeve and Shinra Cid had re-built the ship so it could rotate engine parts without loosing the ability to use them.  
  
They climbed up the rope ladder and on to the main deck. "Take the ship up!" He yelled to the pilot.   
  
Immediately the ship rose high enough that the house beneath them looked like little more than a model. Cid himself stood by the controls and shifted the newly installed lever down one notch. The engines stalled, then a grinding sound was heard as the propellers folded and retracted as small bays opened up and jet engines came out. They ignited and the ship, which had started to drop, raced forward toward the mako pit.  
  
***  
  
Cloud was being worn down, and he knew it. His stamina was slipping away from him as blow after blow slipped past his guard and his sword slowed. The monsters continued in on him, and Cloud worried that he might not get out of this alive.   
  
All the refugees had fled as soon as the monsters attacked, which was the only smart thing for them to do. The monsters seemed content to finish him before moving onto easier prey.   
  
Recoiling from yet another hit Cloud thought that he heard a distant whine over the sounds of battle. Ignoring it Cloud felt sudden despair as the monsters closed in for the kill. Knowing that this was likely to be the end, Cloud readied himself for their rush. Just as they were almost upon him, Cloud felt a sudden warmth from the center of his being. He was surrounded by light and his wounds began to pain him less. Cloud recognized the effects as those of a Full-Cure materia being cast on him.   
  
Then he saw a sight that made his heart leap. Slowly descending to touch the ground was the massive fire breathing Ifrit. Cloud stepped quickly away as Ifrit reared back and unleashed his hell fire attack, engulfing the creatures. Suddenly coming back to himself Cloud prepared to face his foes, only to find that they had been incinerated during the attack.  
  
Turning, Cloud saw the Highwind descend and land near the mako pit. Before it touched the ground a figure jumped and started running for him. Great, Cloud thought to himself, now they want me to play hero again. Smiling a smile that went no further than his mouth Cloud faced Tifa as she ran up. Slightly behind her came Cid, having waited for his ship to land before joining them.   
  
"Thanks for the assist, I don't know what those things were, but they were tough. The sense couldn't make anything out of them other than an immunity to earth," Cloud said surveying the area.   
  
"The crew is offloading the supplies," Cid said, "We'd better go and tell the refuges that the threat has passed."   
  
Cloud looked up, "Reeve called about monster sightings, but I didn't know what to make of them. If these monsters are here where are others like them, and how did they get here?" Cloud asked.  
  
"Slow down Cloud," Tifa said, "First let's just see if everyone's all right before we start making larger problems for ourselves. She glanced at Cid as they started towards the camp. His glance returned her own feelings, not again. . .  
  
***  
  
The babble of voices and rattle of plates met Squall's ears as he entered the cafeteria. He looked around and spotted Zell trying valiantly to obtain a hot dog out of the lunch line. Smiling, an expression that came more easily to his face now, he moved out of the doorway and began working his way up the line.   
  
His thoughts drifted past the immediate realities of the room to his new job as the head of SeeD. Headmaster Cid stayed to instruct but after Squall had returned from time compressed space and tried to return control, Cid wouldn't hear of it.   
  
"Squall, you are the example of a true knight and have surpassed any battle skills that can be taught here. I'd love to continue to run the instructional areas of the Garden, but you must now determine what course to take. Whether we become mercenaries again or something else, you are the one who will lead us."  
  
After that speech there was little Squall could say and reluctantly took up the role of Garden Master in its new authority. There had been very little in the way of job offers so far, which pleased everyone. The few that had come were either foolish and unprofitable (There had been one Galbadian officer who tried to hire SeeD to retake Timber) or more reasonable but still problematic (The clearing of locations in Esthar from monsters). Rinoa had been supportive and, more importantly, having grown up in a military family had been able to offer advice on the different governments.  
  
Finding himself at the front of the line Squall selected his meal looked out into the crowd for a place to sit.  
  
"Hey Squall! Over here!" Zell waved him over to a table occupied by Selphie and Ivrine. They moved around so that Squall had a place to sit. "I can't wait until Galbadia Garden is back up and all the rest of their students can go back. It's crowded here." After the battles between Gardens Galbadia Garden had taken so much damage from the battle and the occupying troops that it was under serious repair at Fisherman's Horizon.   
  
"I'd rather have some peace here too, but just be glad that they have a Garden to return to." Squall replied. "By the way, Ivrine, are you going to transfer permanently here or go back to Galbadia?"  
  
"I'm still thinking about that," Irvine replied, "It's hard to believe that it's only been a week since we defeated Ultimecia. I'm still sorting out what happened."  
  
Squall nodded, "I know, it's-" He broke off as the intercom broke in.  
  
"Would Squall, Zell, Selphie, and Irvine please report to the headmaster's office immediately."  
  
Glancing over at the others Squall stood, leaving his lunch and started toward the central elevator.   
  
***  
  
After the intercom sounded Rinoa left the library and hurried up to the headmaster's office. When she arrived she found Cid waiting.  
  
"I suppose that you want to know what's going on Rinoa," he said as he turned. "When the others arrive I'll tell you, but I have your father breathing down my neck to return you."  
  
"My father can wait, he just doesn't understand that I've grown out of his martial law." Rinoa replied angrily, thinking of when she had returned with Squall to her father's house and had been locked in.  
  
"I know that," Cid said gently, "But he does have an army and if he doesn't get some sort of response out of you, he's likely to use what's left of it."  
  
The doors opened behind Rinoa and the others arrived. She knew without turning that Squall was there. His lazy wolf stride matched well with Zell's eager step and Selphie's cheerful walk. Irvine's cocky march seemed to fit him as well. Cid turned to them and waved them over to some chairs. The office had been repaired around the bridge and now had some semblance of order.  
  
"I suppose you all wonder why you're here," Cid started, "Well, as you're all old hands at this I'll come straight to the point. There are monsters attacking the Winhill area that are stronger than anything that we predicted out of the lunar cry. Quistis is on her way to the motor pool to get you a car, but due to the wide area of attacks you'll have to split into two teams."  
  
Selphie raised her hand. "I can take the Ragnarok out with two others and we can cover a lot of ground."  
  
"Good, why don't Zell and Irvine accompany you," Cid replied.  
  
"Then I'll head to the motor pool," Rinoa said rising. Cid had done everything in his power since she had arrived at Balamb Garden to keep her from harm. He seemed to have mellowed a bit, but he was still playing the role of the overprotective father.  
  
"Just remember what I told you earlier, he doesn't seem to need much of an excuse to go off Rinoa," Cid replied in a warning.  
  
Squall looked curiously at her.  
  
"I'll tell you later," Rinoa said. Squall nodded trusting her as everyone crowded into the elevator.  
  
***  
  
Squall jumped and sliced with his gun blade as the enemies came closer. He recognized them all, but to put a name to each would take his concentration away from a close battle. In the back of his mind he knew that these creatures should have been much weaker.  
  
After Quistis had taken them to Winhill the villagers had pointed to the hills south of the town and run back into their barricaded houses. Without going far the party encountered a large number of monsters approaching the town. Leaping into the fray they had quickly found themselves separated and barely holding their own.   
  
Squall reached into his stocked magic and cast Ultima, cutting the monster's numbers slightly. With this slight reprieve he saw that the monsters had worked him around a hill from where the others fought. Light from that direction faded as a pillar of fire rose into the sky. A glimpse of a red horned head told him that Ifrit had appeared. Apparently Quistis had had a chance to perform a summon.   
  
Finding himself facing only three opponents Squall focused into his fighting mindset. They charged and for an instant that seemed to stretch into eternity he saw not the three monsters that he had been facing but three Ochu moving at impossible speeds. They swept in and Squall found that his body was responding in a different style than he had been taught. Then he saw the differences. A different landscape surrounded him than the rolling plains of the Winhill area. In place of his gunblade was a huge sword with two jewels set in its blade. He glimpsed muscled arms wielding the sword and felt them weakening as a whine began behind him.  
  
Suddenly Squall found himself facing his three opponents again who had crossed the distance to him and were launching into an attack. Mentally reeling from the scenes he had just witnessed Squall stepped back a step just as a bright flash leaped across his vision into the head of one of the monsters. It fell as the flash resolved itself into Rinoa's blaster edge returning to its owner. A whip struck the one of the other's legs, collapsing it. Seizing this opportunity Squall leaped in and finished it before spinning and decapitating the remaining monster.   
  
Squall stared stupidly at the bodies trying to figure out how he had ever thought they had been Ochu.  
  
"Squall?" Rinoa asked worriedly.  
  
He looked up.   
  
"What is it?" She asked. "When we finished ours we turned and saw you gone. When we got here we saw you just standing there."  
  
"I thought I saw. . . Never mind," Squall replied, shaking himself. "It's not important, what is though is how could such low level creatures have such power?"  
  
Rinoa still looked worried as Quistis spoke up. "I have no idea, but we had better find the others.   
  
As they returned to the car Rinoa came up beside Squall. "You know that you can tell me anything right?" She asked.  
  
"I don't know what I saw, but I was some where else fighting. Maybe Cid can make sense of it." Squall said looking into her eyes. "These stronger creatures worry me."  
  
"You two coming or should I send the Garden here?" Quistis asked jokingly.  
  
Looking up Squall saw the laughter in Rinoa's eyes and replied to Quistis, "I'm coming Ms. Trepe." He replied in his best schoolboy attitude.   
  
Rinoa burst out laughing. 


	2. Prelude of Questions

Chapter 2: Prelude of Questions  
  
Cloud slipped wearily form the back of his chocobo and led it into the corral. He gave it an affectionate pat and removed the saddle.   
  
After the highwind had arrived the villagers returned and the supplies were distributed. Meanwhile Cloud, Barret, and Tifa spread out and searched for any of the more powerful monsters. The search had turned up little and after a few fights with monsters that were normal for the area Cloud headed home.   
  
The sun was setting behind him as he stepped into his house. Immediately he knew that something was wrong. There was a light on in his room. He slid silently across his floor and looked into the room.   
  
Inside rummaging around in his drawers was a girl wearing short shorts and a green shirt. On her back was a shuriken.   
  
He stepped into the doorway. "Generally you ask permission to enter someone's house," Cloud said. Yuffie spun and threw her shuriken at his face after the first word. Without thinking Cloud blocked it with his sword and caught it. "What are you doing here Yuffie?" Cloud asked wearily. "And you might as well return the materia, I have a feeling I'm going to need it."  
  
"Hey!" Yuffie said angrily, "Give me back my shuriken!"  
  
"No."  
  
"Fine, here's the materia, I thought that you might have hidden the rest in here somewhere, but… Wait, did you just say that you were going to need this stuff?" Yuffie looked around, "I thought that all the tough monsters were gone."  
  
"First give me the materia," Cloud said. "I'm not in the mood for your games Yuffie, and yes we might have a problem."  
  
Yuffie handed him the materia and walked to the front room. Cloud put each orb in its place and returned the ones that he had used earlier. Locking the chest Cloud tossed the Conformer to Yuffie and returned his sword to the weapons cupboard. "There was a call today from Mideel," Cloud began as Yuffie sat down on the couch, "I went and expected to find natural wildlife or weak monsters, what I found almost killed me."  
  
Yuffie, who had been making a show of calm looked quickly back at him. "I thought that you could basically beat anything but a Weapon in a straight fight!"   
  
Cloud smiled weakly, "An exaggeration, but I am competent. No, the monsters were insanely strong and immune to Earth. Sense couldn't make anything out of them. Three creatures nearly finished me. Fortunately Cid and Tifa were making a supply run to Mideel and could help me out."  
  
Yuffie stood and tried her best to cover how shaken she was. Cloud's sharp eyes saw right through that attempt, having tried to cover his insecurity with bluster in the past. "I guess I'll be going then, tell me if there will be more trouble, I'm still one of you guys." She stepped out the door and turned back, "Seriously, I won't bother anyone else until we have word one way or another." She stepped out and was gone.  
  
Cloud shook his head and sat into his favorite chair. Yuffie's reaction, although extreme, summed up what everyone would think. If Cloud couldn't fight three alone then there was trouble. Trouble bad enough to sober the usually hyper and playful Yuffie.   
  
Wishing that he could shake this off as just an isolated attack, Cloud couldn't ignore the feeling that all his questions were somehow tied up in the appearance of these new monsters.  
  
***  
  
Tifa reached up and knocked hesitantly at the door. Inside she heard a low voiced swear and heavy footsteps. The locks clicked and the door started to open. "I told you already, I don't need…" Barret stopped as he saw Tifa there.   
  
"Hi," She said weakly.  
  
"Tifa! Come in, sorry about that, we've had perfectly ordinary bats in the mines and the men don't understand that they'll be gone after a few days of work." Barret led the way into the dimly lit interior.   
  
"Have a seat, anything you want?" Barret turned and settled himself in a big chair. "Marlene's just gone to bed, and," He stopped when he saw her face.  
  
"There might be trouble," She said. "There was a fight today and Cloud is, well…"  
  
"Cloud is probably just fine Tifa, you know him." Barret said reassuringly. "Now what about the trouble?"  
  
Tifa quickly filled in the details of the battle and Cloud's part in it. "Then he went into his brooding mode again. He just can't seem to finish his fight."  
  
"Tifa, Cloud has been fighting Sephiroth for years. What he's found has left him without any damn sense of the real world. Talk to him. He won't ask for help," Barret said.  
  
"I know, but he always seems distracted," Tifa smiled, "and you seem to be offering wise advice. I'd think that you'd been holding out on us."  
  
"Shhhh. If it gets out that I'm not an idiot my image will be ruined," Barret said laughing. The conversation went downhill from there.  
  
***  
  
Cloud tossed and turned restlessly. Finally he got out of bed and dressed. It was a few hours before sunrise. Cloud gathered up some equipment and a few of the more potent materia in his possession and his buster sword. Into the pile went some recovery items and his Escort Guard armor. After a few seconds of thought the PHS went in as well.  
  
After eating breakfast and equipping himself Cloud saddled his Gold chocobo and set out. Riding north he skirted the populated areas and the remains of Midgar. Once he reached the ocean Cloud aimed his chocobo straight for the city of the ancients.   
  
Entering it Cloud left his chocobo in one of the houses and made his way toward the house where the party had slept the night Aeris died. He sat at the glowing sphere at the entrance and tried again to connect with it.   
  
The usual barrage of thoughts streamed at him. Cloud struggled to sort them out into some kind of coherent message. As with his previous attempts Cloud understood nothing. There was something that he was missing, he was sure of it, but the ancients kept their secrets.   
  
Standing Cloud moved away from the device, trying to clear his head. Feeling that his trip here should have some result Cloud went to the projector that Bugenhagen had shown him how to work. Inside was the same image: Aeris praying over the White Materia. Then it showed it drop to the bottom of the lake and start to glow. Turning to leave Cloud stopped when he saw more. The White Materia released a wave of energy and stopped glowing. The ripples of shadow under the water accelerated until it seemed to Cloud that weeks might have passed. Then they slowed to their normal speed. A flash of light blotted everything out for a second. When it vanished a vortex of energy was sitting at the bottom of the lake. The White Materia slid along the bottom and vanished into the vortex, which closed seconds later.  
  
When the image restarted Cloud stepped through the curtain of water. The last image was still in his head. The White Materia was gone. The vortex looked nothing like the lifestream. That meant that instead of returning to the planet or lying safely at the bottom of the lake the White Materia, arguably one of the most powerful materia in the world, could be anywhere while the Black Materia was Still Unaccounted For!  
  
Returning to the house where he had left his Chocobo, Cloud returned to the entrance to the city. With one last glance back he headed for the old temple of the ancients where the Black Materia had sat safe for ages. Perhaps there would be clues there.  
  
***  
  
Vincent stood from his meditation on a cliff overlooking the sea. A new feeling enveloped him. Without quite placing it he knew that something was different with the world. Turning to leave his silent vigil he saw a small child with a wooden sword running happily along the forest's edge.   
  
Smiling, an expression that seemed new after the scaring of his soul so long ago, Vincent watched as the child bent over to pick up an object. The child held it up as it sparkled in the late morning light.  
  
Vincent suddenly noticed a group of flying monsters speed from the forest straight at the boy. A glimpse of a pair of wings, two mouths and a stinger was all that Vincent took in before rushing with his Death Penalty drawn.   
  
The boy turned and saw the monsters coming and put the item in his pocket, while drawing his sword into a relatively stable ready stance. Drawing on his materia, Vincent threw up a wall spell around the boy just as the monsters attacked. Shooting as he ran, Vincent threw himself into the fray. At once the monsters began attacking with an extremely fast rate of movement that left him taking more hits than he could dodge.   
  
Immune to the pain of battle, Vincent drew upon the Contain materia next and threw a Freeze attack at the group. They faltered and one fell to the ground. Pressing his advantage, Vincent laid down a steady stream of fire that sent the remaining monsters to the ground.   
  
He turned to face the boy as the Wall spell wore off. The boy had surprisingly few wounds and his sword had been broken in half. He had one end in his hand and the other sat twenty feet away, shattered, but with the monster's blood on it.   
  
Vincent reached into his pocket and used a potion on the boy, curing him of his wounds. The boy looked up at Vincent's face.  
  
"What were they?" He asked in a small frightened voice.  
  
"I don't know," Vincent said, gazing at the carnage, "But I intend to find out. First I should take you home though."  
  
He walked with the boy down the hill and away from the forest. Releasing his black chocobo, Vincent helped the boy up. "What did you find right before the attack?" Vincent asked.   
  
"It just fell from the sky," the boy said, handing the item to Vincent. In his hand was a key. Stamped into the head of the key was "Property of Balamb Garden."   
  
***  
  
"My only guess was that this vision thing was somehow connected with the stronger monsters," Squall said, concluding his report to Cid.  
  
"You're sure you saw this from the perspective of another man?" Cid asked. "Never mind, if you said it then it happened." Standing Cid placed his hands behind his back. "The reports from everyone says that these attacks have been infrequent, but there are enough that we can confirm that these monsters are much stronger than they should be."   
  
"I only wish I could have seen more of that area, I might have identified it," Squall said. "Quistis is doubtful and even Rinoa is looking for some other reason."  
  
Cid walked around his desk and looked Squall in the eyes. "You are the administrative and tactical leader of SeeD. We cannot afford any breakdown in you. Also, if what you recall is even half accurate then this man could be trouble. I want you to go see Ellone. Maybe she can help you."  
  
Squall thought to himself. This situation could end up distracting him from running the Garden. But then, wasn't that what he wanted? The few days after his return had been great, and even now with running the Garden Squall was not unhappy, but since there was no real threat to his existence at the moment this seemed like it might not be such a problem.  
  
"The repairs to the Garden will be completed by tomorrow," Squall said, "It might be a good time to take a cruse. We might want to leave behind some of the students though. It's going to be crowded."  
  
"Good idea, it also might help to have a guard here in case we have any more of the monsters attack in this area." Cid replied. "I'll pick out some of the more advanced students to stay behind."  
  
***  
  
Quistis looked up from her desk as Rinoa walked in. "I sure hope you're here to make conversation, because this paper work is so tedious."  
  
"Quistis, you know I'm always ready to help relieve the pressures of bureaucracy," Rinoa said smiling, "I just wish that I had better news." She sat down opposite the desk. "I still can't find the key to the car we took out yesterday. I guess it fell out when we were fighting."  
  
Quistis waved her hand. "Forget it, if that's all you're worried about then relax, things like that happen all the time."  
  
Rinoa looked up at her sadly, "I just feel like I have to prove myself to everyone. I mean you guys have been doing this for a long time, and before that you all knew each other. I feel like an outsider here. And it doesn't make it any easier when Squall is imagining things."  
  
"Rinoa, you've proven yourself to everyone. Just because you aren't SeeD doesn't mean anything. Besides you're also a sorceress. I doubt anyone thinks less of you for being a little different than many of the students here. As for Squall, I've never known him to be anything but assertive. Give him some support. He probably feels that this vision, or what ever he calls it, is real. Stranger things have happened."  
  
"You don't believe it though." Rinoa stated.  
  
Quistis just shrugged. "I doubt that he enjoys his position much, but he wouldn't lie about something. Besides overwork can be unhealthy," She glanced up quickly, "Not as unhealthy as ignoring this work when Cid is supposed to be down shortly, but unhealthy anyway."  
  
***  
  
Several days later Squall looked up as the last miles fell away on the journey to the temporary base of the white SeeD. Since there was no direct threat to Ellone anymore the white SeeD had left their ship for a while. It lay on the coast of the southern continent.   
  
"Sir, the base is coming up now. What are your orders?" The pilot asked.  
  
"Keep a respectful distance. We'll be here for a little while," Squall replied. He stepped onto the lift and rode it down to Cid's office.  
  
"I'll be coming with you Squall, the motor pool has already prepared a car for everyone," Cid said. Squall nodded and followed him to the central elevator. They passed the ride in silence and walked around the building to the motor pool. Inside were Rinoa, Selfie, Zell, Quistis, and Irvine.   
  
"I just hope that the other SeeD are a little friendlier now that they know that we don't want to take Ellone to an evil time warping sorceress," Zell was saying.  
  
"I'd say that they were more along the lines of detached and aloof," Cid said as they made their way to the car, "but they have gotten a little more open."  
  
They all selected seats without further comment and the car made its bumpy way over the stretch of field separating the now immobile garden form the block construction of the base sitting near the ocean.   
  
Squall squinted as the rising sun glittered off the water. The wind blew steadily in from the sea, masking the scent of new construction with the sharp tang of brine, seaweed, and salt. Ellone stood waiting for them as the car approached.  
  
Cid stopped the car a respectful fifty feet away and got out. Squall followed him as the others worked their way out of the cramped back.  
  
"I take it by the look on your face that this isn't a social visit," Ellone said in way of greeting.  
  
"Squall has recently had an experience that I think you can help with," Cid said, getting right to the point, "I must say however that its been too long since we had much of a break."   
  
"Come inside, I'll do what I can."  
  
***  
  
"And then there was a whine behind me and I saw a red light appear. After that everything was back to normal except that some time had passed and my three remaining enemies were closer to me." Squall concluded. There was a silence in the room as Ellone thought through what had been said.  
  
"I can take you and a couple others back to that point, but I don't know if we can tell anything," Ellone said. "As you know I can only take you to your past. This sounds like someone else's past to me. Who would you like to take with you?"  
  
Squall thought about that carefully. He wanted someone who might help him understand it, but he desperately wanted to prove to himself that he wasn't seeing things too. "I think that I should take Cid with me. I'd also like Rinoa to there. She has had stranger things happen to her."  
  
"All right, I'll try," Ellone replied, seeming to draw in on herself.   
  
There was a distinct feeling of sleepiness as Squall relaxed into his chair. Quite suddenly he found himself watching detachedly as he cast Ultima on several monsters. Unlike his previous trips to the past of Laguna and the others he was in no way involved in the fighting. Just then the pillar of fire appeared as Quistis summoned Ifrit. The remaining three enemies charged forward. Just then time seemed to stretch and Squall found that he was again in a battle in a strange place. Much more clearly he saw that the body that he was watching from was very different from his own. The muscles were dripping with sweat and blood and the three ochu moved at speed that no monster that weak should be able to. They dipped in again and again pasted the guard of the giant sword. The body took more hits than any normal person could and weakened, allowing more injuries to slip inside of the expertly woven guard.   
  
A faint sound from behind him became a more pronounced whine, which none of the combatants paid attention to. Suddenly there was a red flaming light and the ground near him erupted. A faint glimpse of horns appeared and then without warning Squall was back in his own body.  
  
"Did it work?" Quistis asked cautiously.  
  
Cid sat up in his chair. "Amazing. That was some of the most intricate sword work I have ever seen."  
  
"I saw it too," Rinoa said, "There was a forest around a pit with some kind of buildings built around it. They looked barely livable."  
  
Ellone put a hand up to her head. "That was strange. Before I have always just replayed the images, but now there was some sort of distinct shift in," She shrugged, "I don't know how to explain it, but it shifted and suddenly I was in a different feeling reality watching as he was worn down. He was confused and a little hopeless, but his thoughts were based around the fight."  
  
Squall looked up. "It was real, and I've been a lot of places, but nowhere fits what I saw. A big pit with a faint greenish glow from inside it? I think I would have heard of it at least."  
  
There were sounds of argument outside and a young SeeD cadet burst through the door. "Cid, Squall," He began breathlessly, "I just got word from the students at Fisherman's Horizon. Some Galbadian General showed up there with an army and demands to see you and that you release his daughter."  
  
Cid gowned. "That idiot. Well," He said looking at Ellone, "I have to see to this, and the Garden is the only show of force that I have at the moment to appease him. If you want to you can come along. This will only take a little talking and then we can get back to the problem at hand."  
  
"I'd be glad to come," Ellone replied, "besides I think that the White SeeD could use a break from guarding me day and night. It might be interesting to see how he handles two Gardens worth of SeeD." 


	3. Crossing Over

Chapter 3: Crossing Over  
  
As Cloud rode toward the former site of the temple of the ancients his feelings of dread increased. As far as he knew the White materia was only able to block the incredible energies of meteor. But what if it was used without meteor being summoned? Plus after Sephiroth died no one had recovered the Black materia. If some other insane psycho used it the world would be lost without another last ditch attempt to save the planet by the lifestream.   
  
Cloud was so lost in his thoughts that at first he failed to hear the whine of the Highwind approaching him from behind. It wasn't until the shadow of the Highwind passed over him that he shook himself out of his brooding. Looking up he could see Tifa on the observation deck leaning over and pointing at the nearby coast.  
  
Cloud sighed and waved his arm to show that he understood. Now Tifa wanted to talk. Why couldn't she just see that he was trying to solve this problem? She was just plain confusing.   
  
Cloud brought his chocobo to a halt just passed the gentle beaches on a grassy plain. He figured that he was vaguely south east of the Golden Saucer. That gambling establishment held little interest for him these days.  
  
The Highwind flew overhead and settled to the ground a ways in front of him. From the ladder climbed Barret, Tifa, Cait Sith, and Cid.   
  
Cloud groaned, and thought here we go again.  
  
***  
  
Vincent road along the coast south of Neo-Midgar, his hair streaming behind him. His destination was Cloud's house. If there was one person who would understand his confusion and who he could identify with it was Cloud. Cloud was weary of the battles, that much was clear to Vincent. He only hoped that Cloud had found peace with his place in life, or this new information could cause him to withdraw further.  
  
Vincent's attention was suddenly drawn to the coast just north of him. There was a flash of purple light and several monsters began to appear. Vincent quickly turned his chocobo toward this phenomenon.   
  
As he neared it he saw that the monsters were emerging from a vortex that stood about eight feet high. He quickly jumped off his chocobo and into the group of monsters. They were disoriented and although strong fell quickly to his shots.  
  
The vortex, having disgorged its passengers began to close. Vincent made the snap decision to jump through the rapidly closing portal; his only thought was that this was a way to find the source of the threat.  
  
As soon as Vincent touched the portal, his body seemed to elongate and drop. He felt his body flux with energy, and then suddenly he fell out of it. Vincent rolled to a stop at the base of a railroad bridge that stretched out into the distance.  
  
A quick sniff revealed that this bridge was spanning a sea. Vincent was puzzled. He had been most everywhere in the world, and never had he seen a railroad bridge that stretched out over this much water.  
  
Inwardly shrugging, Vincent climbed up the hill behind him and began to walk along the bridge, slowly making his way toward what he hoped was the reason behind this structure.  
  
***  
  
Cid slowly lowered the Highwind to the ground, avoiding landing on top of Cloud, but as a matter of long practice he wanted to prove that his ship could have landed on Cloud. He then turned the ship over to his crew, knowing that they could handle her in any real emergency, namely when he wasn't around.  
  
"Yo! Cid, you coming?" Barret asked. He stood on the lower deck, waiting for Tifa to finish swinging onto the rope ladder that stretched to the ground.  
  
"Quit your %@&# yelling, I'm on my way!" Cid marveled that he still put up with the hulking man, but then realized that even though the two would never be close, they had a certain grudging respect for one another that stemmed from their countless battles together, and the mutual trust that if one of them stood on one side then the other needn't worry about any attacks from that side.  
  
Cid quickly joined the pair on the ground as Cloud rode up. He hadn't seen much of Cloud after they all disembarked following the destruction of Meteor. In fact, the attack the other day was almost the first he'd seen of the reluctant leader of Avalanche since the rescue of the survivors of Midgar. The Lifestream had destroyed Meteor, but the damage had already been done. The vortexes had revenged most of the upper plates, leaving virtually no survivors. That wasn't the worst of it though, another plate fell, and the whole structure was unstable, leaving the people crowded in the slums panicky. The Highwind arrived and immediately was crowded by people. Reeve quickly arrived and began sorting out the people into several loads, most of which were going to Junnon where they would receive medical treatment.   
  
The Job had been larger that Cid, or even Reeve for that mater, had thought it would be. Evacuating an entire city was a huge undertaking, and in the end it had taken several strenuous days and half a dozen other aircraft to evacuate the people.   
  
Cid was shaken out of his musings when Cloud rode to a halt in front of the three of them. Tifa, as usual was just behind Barret, not wanting to seem too close to Cloud, but wanting to be close to him.   
  
Cid rolled his eyes and walked up. "Cloud, Reeve's worried about the new monsters that we fought yesterday."  
  
Cloud looked Cid in the eyes and shrugged, "It was a fluke, right?"  
  
"I hate to break it to you, but these things have been sprouting up all over the place. Reeve sent Cait Sith along for the ride. He wants us to go looking." Cid looked over to Barret for help.  
  
"Look kid, I know you ain't thrilled 'bout this, but would you rather the shreds of Shinra deal with it? Come on, they can't hardly find their own rear ends with both hands and a map." Barret stepped forward, waving his arms around. "As I see it it's a job for avalanche."  
  
Cloud sighed. Well, he thought, might as well tell them. "We have another problem. I just came from the City of the Ancients. The projector shows that the White materia is gone."  
  
They looked up at him, clearly startled. "But, since meteor's gone, we don't need it. Right?" Tifa asked hesitantly.  
  
"I don't know what it does, if anything, besides summon Holy. Besides, where's the Black materia?" Cloud asked.  
  
"This could be bad," Barret said, "But we need you with us for this. Not something that could happen later. Maybe."  
  
"Fine, let's go."  
  
The four of them climbed up the ladder into the waiting highwind.  
  
***  
  
Calling it a room stretched the truth. It was more of a closet than a room. Were anyone to look in, they would be expecting to find cleaning supplies or brooms. Calling it an office was lunacy. But, reflected Reeve, that was what it was, at least until more of the construction at the Neo-Midgar site was complete. That's what the people called it, anyway.  
  
Reeve sat, surrounded by blueprints for the infrastructure of the new city. Among the rolls of paper and the discarded pencils, rulers, and coffee mugs was the apparatus for controlling the doll, Cait Sith. All of it fit into one suitcase and ran off batteries that would last considerably longer than those readily available. The flashing light on the top of the case told him that they had picked up Cloud and that he really should get back to them. Instead he sat here pondering his newest problem.   
  
Standing in front of his desk was an individual who was generally considered one of the worst people you would ever want to run into in a dark alley. He didn't look it though. He had dark brown hair that looked like it hadn't seen a comb in a week. Perched on top of the hair was a pair of sunglasses. The rest of him was equally disreputable. The blue suit looked slept in and appeared to have a few stains on it. The cleanest part of him was the small rod that hung from his belt.  
  
"Well, what exactly are you going to do about it?" The man said, obviously impatient with the construction around him.  
  
"You know that most of the Shinra military forces are currently assisting in the construction efforts here. The others are being forced to act as police in the outlying areas. Besides I've already got people looking into the situation."  
  
"You sent them in didn't you? The Turks are the ones who should be searching for the source of the new monsters!" Reno shouted.  
  
"As you well know, Avalanche is a private organization. They are currently working on it. "Reeve said, keeping his calm façade intact," Either you complete your job here or you can re-consider your decision to remain a part of the Shinra corporation."  
  
Reno turned on his heel and walked out. "You're making a mistake," he muttered as he left.  
  
Reeve sighed and setup the interface. "Alright, Shinra has been tracking the incidents that we know off. . ."  
  
***  
  
"So basically the attacks are appearing at random?" Tifa asked.  
  
"Just about, although they seem to be more concentrated around smaller outlying areas and old Midgar," Cait Sith replied. "Assuming that the pattern holds true, the next attack should be around Kalm in half an hour."  
  
"We're already headed that way," Cid said, "We should get there soon."  
  
"So," Cloud began, "What do you think is causing the monsters to appear where they do? It shouldn't be Hojo's creation machines we disabled all of them."  
  
"We don't know, that's why I asked you guys for some help. I couldn't find Yuffie or Vincent though. . . Vincent I can understand, he's not really one for checking in. But Yuffie should be around."  
  
"That girl is nothing but trouble," Barret said. "I'd rather work without her."  
  
"Be nice, she is the daughter of a powerful family, perhaps you've already forgotten our stay in Wutai?" Cait Sith replied.  
  
"Hey guys!" Tifa yelled, "I see something down there!" She ran out the door headed for the observation deck.  
  
"*@&! Take her down pilot!" Cid yelled as the rest of the bridge emptied out.  
  
Cloud hit the ground running. Tifa was still some distance ahead of him, but what had her attention was not the group of unfamiliar monsters, but the glowing purple vortex that they were coming from. Cloud cast a Stop spell over the vortex, hoping to hold it in place so they could find out what it was. In the back of his mind Cloud identified it as the same vortex that swallowed the White Materia.  
  
However, foremost in his thoughts were that a wave of monsters had just cut Tifa off from the rest of the party, and that instead of fighting her way out, she was running straight for the vortex.   
  
Cloud leapt into action, his Ultima weapon swirling, a flashing wave of death as the monsters in front of him died hard. Off to his right there was a steady wave of machinegun fire as the Missing Score mowed down the enemies in front of him. To Cloud's left was Cait Sith, flailing around with his megaphone. It was always startling to see that these attacks were just as potent at the attacks from the rest of Avalanche. Cid, his Venus Gospel whirling, played cleanup, stopping any of the monsters from reaching the Highwind and the crew that stood within.  
  
As the last opponent fell before his sword Cloud looked over toward the vortex. The Stop spell had held it open, just as he had hoped, but the effects were wearing off. Cloud shook off his minor wounds and headed straight into the purple field.  
  
As Cloud landed on the other side, he looked up. Instead of the barren area around Midgar, there was a fertile green field, rolling hills and a gentle breeze.   
  
Behind him the rest of the party arrived, stunned by the changes around them. There was a distinct buzzing sound behind them as Cait Sith arrived.  
  
"Whatever took us here is interfering with my control of the robot," a static filled voice said, "I'll head back and see what's left."  
  
With that Cait Sith jumped through the vortex just as it closed. Cloud's attention however was solely on the shape of a giant structure moving quickly away from them. Just off the back he could make out the form of Tifa, fighting several uniformed men. . .  
  
***  
  
Zell was walking along down the garden hallway that lead to the recreation grounds. His mind was on the up coming send-off for the Galbadian students that he had been helping Selphie plan. Ah, things were going well.  
  
"Who are you?!? She must be a spy! Capture her!" Zell shook out of his pleasant mood and looked toward the sounds of conflict. When he heard the all too familiar sound of bodies hitting the floor he ran into the grounds.   
  
Standing in the middle of the square was a woman about his age. She had long dark hair tied up in a ponytail and was wearing a white shirt and a miniskirt with suspenders. On her hands were gloves with jewels set into them. Around her were several of the upperclassmen from the Garden who had been on patrol together.   
  
The woman looked up as Zell came running in. Even as he launched himself at his opponent, he admired her smooth transition into a fighting stance.   
  
Zell faked high and attacked low. Surprisingly the woman blocked it with a quick move of her leg and threw back a complex series of jabs, punches, and kicks. Zell staggered back under the assault, surprised at the level of skill she had.   
  
Finally regaining his balance Zell began to use his knowledge of the square to his advantage. He slowly worked the fighter around so that with one push he could topple her over a bench.   
  
He made his move, and just as he predicted she stumbled against the bench. Instead of falling however, she jumped to the side. Zell felt a brief moment of elation, because the move brought her closer to him, and placed her off balance.   
  
The elation quickly faded however after she threw up a hand, as if to catch her balance. The hand pointed to him, and with a minor flare, a mid level fire spell hit him straight on in the chest.   
  
Now it was Zell's turn to fall back a few paces. This gave the woman enough time to regain her balance. Mentally patting himself on the back for remembering, Zell drew from his stocked magic and threw a random spell at her.  
  
The area around the combatants grew dark and green fire assaulted the woman. Zell flinched in recoil. He'd not meant to throw an Ultima spell at her. That spell could kill her easily. Thus his surprise was complete when the spell faded and she stood there slightly singed but still ready to fight.   
  
"Let me show you how that spell should go." The woman said. This time Zell saw a brief sparkle in green jewel in her glove. Zell quickly threw a shell over himself. This proved fortunate when around him an Ultima spell erupted. Its force caught him off guard. The spell was easily a match for one he had been accidentally hit with by Rinoa. While he had been brushed with the effects he had felt the power inside of it. Just as the spell abated and Zell prepared to move again, another hit him. It retained the same intensity and hit him full on. The Shell's effects dampened the spell, but not enough.   
  
If the second spell was beginning to wear on him, the third spell crossed the line. Zell never even considered how someone could cast three high level Ulitmas back to back, his mind had now assumed a different mode. The near constant battling against the sorceresses had left an imprint on him. His mind was no longer enjoying a good fight with a worthy opponent; he was now in survival mode. There could be no holding back, that would be fatal.   
  
The fourth spell hit after the third, and Zell had already planned a quick attack and a summoning of a GF. The Guardian Force would be enough to stop her.  
  
As the fourth spell crested the shell around him failed utterly. Having absorbed the energy of four Ultimas Zell expected it to fail, but not like it did. Instead of just fading, the spell threw all of the accumulated energy back out in a solid wave toward the woman. Unfortunately a weaker, but still substantial wave flew directly into his face.   
  
Zell fell, under the assault, landing several feet from his starting point. His head spun, and as he clawed his way to a kneeling position he saw the opposite side of the square. A stone bench had been uprooted and broken in two by the wave. Against the wall, struggling to her feet was the woman, holding her arm awkwardly and bleeding from several wounds.   
  
Footsteps echoed behind Zell as several people ran in from the hallway. He heard a distinct rasp of steel and knew that the Lion Heart had been drawn. A wash of light over him and the closing of several wounds told Zell that a Cure spell had been cast, but he was still to groggy to tell what exactly it had been.   
  
Zell stood as the new arrivals stepped up beside and in front of him. Squall stood ahead and to his left, his Gunblade drawn and ready. Beside him was Rinoa, standing and looking at Zell's erstwhile opponent. Beside him and to his right were Cid and Edea.  
  
The woman slowly stood and stepped away from the wall. The force of the previous blast had indeed hit her full on, and Zell guessed that her shoulder was dislocated.   
  
"Who are you?" Squall asked suspiciously.  
  
She just stood there, holding her arm, blood dripping down her face from a cut and more down her elbow and hitting the floor.  
  
Rinoa held her arm in front of Squall and stepped toward the woman. "My name is Rinoa, this is Balamb Garden. I apologize for the welcome, but we generally don't receive guests while we are underway. Could you tell us your name and how you got here?"  
  
The woman seemed to focus on Rinoa took a slight step forward and promptly had her knees buckle and fell to the floor.  
  
Cid looked over to Zell, "Are you alright? Edea and Rinoa felt the energy you were fighting with down here and came as soon as we could."  
  
Several cadets ran in and were quickly pushed aside by two SeeD as Dr. Kadowaki hustled in. A few of the cadets were rapidly drafted into stretcher bearers for the four fallen guards. Amazingly they had all been missed by the spell casting. The Doctor quickly moved over to where Rinoa and Squall were knelt by the unconscious form of the woman.   
  
"Who is she?" Kadowaki asked as her expert hand searched out the injuries on her body. When no answer was forthcoming she started noting to herself the wounds that had been dealt. "A good sized gash on the upper arm, a relatively minor cut on the forehead at the hair line, various other minor cuts and bruises, a minor concussion, and a dislocated shoulder. Also some minor spell burns. I'll need to take her into the Infirmary to treat these wounds."  
  
Rinoa looked up, "I'd like to be there when she wakes up. There's something odd about her."  
  
While the others were picking up the woman Edea leaned over and whispered into Cid's ear. After a moment he nodded and walked out following the wounded. 


End file.
